The capacity of a hydrogel system to accelerate bone formation in a rat calvarial bone defect model is presented. After 12-weeks post-implantation, the hydrogels containing encapsulated human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and miRNA-20a resulted in more bone formation in the defects than the hydrogels containing hMSCs without short interfering RNA (siRNA) or with negative control siRNA. [Acta Biomater]
Abstract | Graphical Abstract

A safety study in immunodeficient mice showed that intrathecal transplantation of astrocytes with more than 90% GFAP expression (hES-AS) is safe. Transplanted hES-AS attached to the meninges along the neuroaxis and survived for the entire duration of the study without formation of tumors or teratomas. [Stem Cell Res Ther]
Full Article | Press Release

Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc. announced the publication of data from the company’s multi-center Phase I clinical trial to assess safety and immunogenicity of SNS-301 in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. [Press release from Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc. discussing research presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, Chicago]
Press Release

Ophthotech Corporation announced that it has entered into an exclusive global license agreement with the University of Florida Research Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania to develop and commercialize a novel adeno-associated virus gene therapy product for the treatment of rhodopsin-mediated autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa, an orphan monogenic disease that is characterized by progressive and severe loss of vision leading to blindness. [Ophthotech Corporation]
Press Release

Hookipa Biotech AG and Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced that they have entered into a research collaboration and license agreement that grants Gilead exclusive rights to Hookipa’s TheraT® and Vaxwave® arenavirus vector-based immunization technologies for two major chronic infectious disease indications, hepatitis B virus and HIV. [Hookipa Biotech AG]
Press Release

Oxford BioMedica plc announced that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Axovant Sciences to develop and commercialize OXB-102, a gene therapy developed by Oxford BioMedica for Parkinson’s disease utilizing the LentiVector® platform. [Oxford BioMedica plc]
Press Release

Midatech Pharma announced that further to the Group’s announcement dated 20 December 2017, patient enrolment is now underway in its Gelclair® Phase IV trial in the US. [Midatech Pharma PLC]
Press Release

Axovant Sciences announced that it has licensed the exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize OXB-102, now AXO-Lenti-PD, from Oxford BioMedica. AXO-Lenti-PD is an investigational gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease that delivers three genes encoding a critical set of enzymes required for dopamine synthesis in the brain. [Axovant Sciences, Inc.]
Press Release

Cellectis announced that the FDA has approved the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application to initiate a Phase I clinical trial for UCART22, Cellectis’ second wholly controlled TALEN® gene-edited product candidate, for the treatment of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in adult patients. [Cellectis]
Press Release

Celixir announced that the FDA has approved its Investigational New Drug application (IND) for Heartcel™, its immuno-modulatory progenitor cell therapy for the treatment of adult heart failure. [Celixir (GlobeNewswire, Inc.)]
Press Release

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract by the Department of Defense. The award of $150,000 will support the Company’s ongoing efforts to develop its NSI-566 human neural stem cell line as a candidate therapeutic for severe traumatic brain injury. [Neuralstem, Inc.]
Press Release

Nkarta Therapeutics announced that it has entered into a worldwide exclusive license agreement for proprietary Natural Killer cell engineering technology jointly owned by the National University of Singapore and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. [Nkarta Therapeutics, Inc.]
Press Release

The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) announced that Dr Jonathan Appleby has been appointed Chief Scientific Officer, with effect on 1 October 2018. [The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult]
Press Release

China is getting tough on scientific misconduct. The country’s most powerful bodies, the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council, introduced a raft of reforms on 30 May aimed at improving integrity across the research spectrum, from funding and job applications to peer-review and publications. [Nature News]
Editorial

Reversing yet another policy of the previous administration, the U.S. Department of State began applying tougher restrictions on some Chinese graduate students. The new policy shortens from five years to one year the duration of visas for those planning to study aviation, robotics, and advanced manufacturing. [ScienceInsider]
Editorial

The European Commission has outlined how it plans to spend the biggest research and innovation budget in its history. In a document that sets out plans for its next major science-funding program, the Commission also confirmed new rules that will, for the first time, allow any country in the world — including a post-Brexit United Kingdom — to take part. [Nature News]
Editorial